On the Difficulty of Self-Knowlege

"[I]t is more than likely that the 'who,' which appears so clearly and unmistakeably to others, remains hidden from the person himself, like the daimon in Greek religion which accompanies each man throughout his life, always looking over his shoulder from behind and thus visible only to those he encounters." --Hannah Arendt, The Human Condition

When someone asks me if I behave in a certain way (are you an obsessive person? are you introverted or extroverted? etc.), if another person is present who knows me well, I immediately turn to that person and ask them. This often cracks up my friends--imagine, the person who ostensibly knows herself best defers to her friends. But I'm convinced that I miss much of what is going on with my own personality and behavior, and I would infinitely more trust another's evaluation of my actions than my own.